NBA fans have had the pleasure of watching some exceptional teams in recent years. When this season began, fans knew there was a very good chance that at least one special team was going to emerge this season. With how the season is playing out, it looks like that team is going to be the Milwaukee Bucks.
Now, the eventual champion is still a long way from being crowned. Until recently, many sportsbooks favored one of the two teams from Los Angeles. While some books still do, many are now picking the Milwaukee Bucks.
It is not hard to understand why. Giannis Antetokounmpo has built on last season’s MVP and played even better this year. They are dominating the Eastern Conference and literally anyone they play—so much that BetMGM.com is offering odds on whether the Bucks will win 70+ games this season:
- Milwaukee Bucks to win 70 or more regular-season games
- Yes +250
Okay, so the first question that should come to mind is how they are currently doing. Well, heading into Friday night’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers, they are 53-9. So, with 20 games remaining, they have to go at least 17-3 for this to pay off.
That’s a pretty tall order.
Of those 20 games, they are playing ten on the road and at home. Of those 20, they will be facing 13 playoff-bound teams with seven of those games coming on the road and six at home. They only have two back-to-back situations (March 8 and 9; April 11 and 12).
Okay, so the road is not impossible. But winning 17 of 20 games still seems improbable—right? They are the highest-scoring team in the NBA this season (119.1 points/game) and have only been allowing 106.7 for a differential of + 12.4—easily the highest in the NBA.
Well, they went 17-3 in their first 20 games of the season and have gone 17-3in their last 20 games.
It sounds like it is an easy call to make, huh? Not necessarily. Two things could sink their chances at hitting the 70-win mark.
With a nine-game lead on the second-place Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference, it seems like the only thing that can stop the Bucks would be injuries and/or resting guys down the stretch. As much as we would like to say they can plan for injuries, you can’t. But they do have one of the deeper rosters in the game, so as long as Giannis Antetokounmpo doesn’t go down, they should be fine.
As for resting guys, the only game down the stretch last year where Antetokounmpo missed because of ‘rest’ was the final regular-season game of the year. So, there is reason to believe the Bucks will try to keep on winning.
But, then again, the Raptors were pushing them for the 1-seed up until the end. Since they will lock that up early this year, maybe they rest guys this go around.
So—how should you bet? It is not hard to imagine this one paying off. As long as the Bucks don’t start resting people any time soon, they should win 70+ games this season.
But to make it worth your while and the risk, include it with a parlay. Antetokounmpo is considered a lock to win MVP (-1000), the Bucks are heavy favorites to win the Eastern Conference (-189)